Lorenz



Dec. 29, 1959 A. LORENZ ARTICLE OF REPOSE FOR SUPPORTING THE BODY OF APERSON Original Filed Jan. 11, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Rn M L 0R E 4 2 Dec. 29, 1959 A. LORENZ Re. 24,

ARTICLE OF REPOSE FOR SUPPORTING THE BODY OF A PERSON Original FiledJan. 11. 1954 9 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 755 758 752 154 150 was INVENTOR F\NTONLORENZ ATTORNEY United States Patent ARTICLE OF REPOSE FOR SUPPORTINGTHE BODY OF A PERSON Anton Lorenz, Boynton Beach, Fla.

Original No. 2,760,554, dated August 28, 1956, Serial No. 403,290,January 11, 1954. Application for reissue August 27, 1958, Serial No.758,174

12 Claims. (Cl. 155-106) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears inthe original patent but forms no part of this reissue specification;matter printed in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

This is a continuation-in-part application of 'my patent applicationSerial No. 316,197, filed on October 22, 195.2, for An Article of Reposefor Supporting the Body of a Person, now Patent No. 2,760,555, and of mypatent application Ser. No. 316,198 filed on October 22, 1952, for AnArticle of Repose for Supporting the Body of a Person, now abandoned.

My invention relates to articles of furniture, and more particularly toreclining chairs or the like articles of furniture, wherein a structureincluding a seat and a back-rest rigid with each other is rockablymounted on a support.

An object of the present invention is to provide a convenientcontrolling mechanism for a leg-rest swingably mounted on the seat of areclining article of furniture of above-described type, by means ofwhich the legrest may be propelled forwardly and upwardly at a greatinitial speed, when the movable members of the article of furniture areswung from their sitting position into a reclined position.

A further object of the invention is to improve on the art of recliningarticles of furniture as now customarily made.

Other objects and structural details will be apparent from the followingdescription when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawingsforming part of this specification, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a chair according to the invention,a portion of a side frame being broken away,

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of another embodiment of a chairaccording to the invention, a portion of a side frame being broken away,and

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of still another embodiment of a chairaccording to the invention, a portion of a side frame being broken away.

Referring now to Fig. 1, 510 generally indicates a frame comprising theside frames 512 and 514 connected with each other by a transverse rod516.

A unit 518 comprising a back-rest 520 and a seat 522 rigid with eachother is swingably mounted on the support 510 at 524. Said unit 518 hasa downward extension 526 rigid with the former.

A leg-rest 528 is swingably mounted on the front portion of the seat 522at 530.

The movements of the leg-rest 528 in dependence on the movements of theunit 518 are controlled by the fol lowing mechanism:

- A first or guide link 532 swingably mounted on the support 510 at 534at a point spaced from the pivotal con nection 524 between the unit 518and the support 510 is pivoted to a second link 536 at 538. The rear endof said secondlink 536 is pivoted to the downward extension 526 of theunit 518 at 540. The first link 532, the second link 536 and theextension 526 constitute the movable links of a constrained linkagewherein the portion of the support 510 between the pivots 524 and 534 isincluded as the stationary link.

The first link 532 and the second link 536 have extension 542 and 544projecting beyond their pivotal connection 538.

One end of a controlling arm 546 is pivoted at 548 to the extension 544of the second link 536; the other end of said controlling arm 546 ispivoted at 550 to one end of a controlling link 552, the other end ofwhich is pivoted to the leg-rest 528 at 554.

The downward extension 542 of the first link 532 is in pivotalconnection with one end of a controlling bar 556 at 558. The other endof said controlling bar 556 is pivoted to the controlling arm 546 at560.

I 2 will be seen that the first or guide link 532, second link 536,controlling arm 546 and controlling bar 556 constitute the four elementsof a quadric linkage which is based upon the constrained linkagedescribed above. The quadric linkage includes one of the links of theconstrained linkage which is pivoted 'to the stationary support, in thisinstance the guide link 532 and also the connecting link 536 which ispart of the constrained linkage. The leg rest is operatively connectedto a portion of the quadric linkage other than the links 532 and 536 (inthe example illustrated in Fig. 1 to the controlling arm 546) so as toadvance the leg rest when the unit is moved towards a recliningposition. By changing the relative lengths of the links of the quadriclinkage, the ratio of movements of the leg rest in relation to thesupport and body-supporting unit may be varied.

The extension 542 of the first link 532 and the controlling bar 556 areprovided with a series of holes 562 and 564, respectively, for anadjustment of the pivotal connection 558.

The sitting position (shown in full lines) of the unit 518 is limited bya stop 566 of the support 510 arranged for cooperation with theextension 526 of the unit. The extreme reclined position (shown in dotand dash lines) of the unit 518 is limited by a stop 568 arranged on thesupport 510 for cooperation with the back-rest.

When the unit 518 is swung from the sitting position into the extremereclined position, the leg-rest 528 is propelled forwardly and upwardlyinto the position 528' by means of the controlling mechanism 532, 536,556, 546, 552 described above.

According to the embodiment shown in Fig. 2 again a unit 618 comprisinga back-rest 620 and a seat 622 rigid with each other is swingablymounted on the support 610 at 624.

The first link 632 swingably mounted on the support 610 at 634 ispivoted to the second link 636 at 638. The rear end of said second link636 is pivoted to the downward extension 626 of the unit 618; theforward extension 644 of said second link is pivoted to the upper end ofthe controlling arm 646 at 648. The lower end of said controlling arm646 is pivoted at 650 to one end of the controlling link 652, the otherend of which is pivoted at 654 to the leg-rest 628 swingably mounted onthe seat 622 at 630.

According to said embodiment of Fig. 2 the rear end of the controllingbar 656 is pivoted to the extension 626 of the unit 618 at 640. Theother end of said controlling bar 656 is again pivoted to thecontrolling arm 646 at 660.

In this construction as in the form of invention shown in Fig. 1, itwill be seen that there is a basic four-bar linkage in which the part ofthe stationary support between the pivots 624 and 634 forms a stationarylink and which includes three movable links 626, 632 and 636. Two ofthese links, 626 and 632, are pivoted at the ends of what may be termedthe stationary link 624-634. The link 636 constitutes a connecting link.The lower part of the back rest extension 626 and the connecting link636 in combination with the controlling arm 646 and the controlling bar656 constitute the four links of a controlled quadric linkage which inturn produces the movement of the leg-rest.

Stops 666 and 668 arranged on the support 610 for cooperation with theextension 626 and the back-rest 620 respectively limit the sitting andextreme reclined positions of the unit 618.

When the unit 618 is swung about its pivot 624 into the reclinedposition 618', the leg-rest 628 is propelled into the position 628' bythe controlling mechanism 626, 636, 656, 646, 652.

According to the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, a unit 718 comprising aback-rest 720 and a seat 722 rigid with each other is rockably mountedon the support 710 at 724. The lower end of the first link 732 isswingably mounted on the support 710 at 734. Said first link 732 ispivoted at 738 to the. second ling 736 pivoted at 740 to the downwardextension 726 of the unit 718. The forward extension 744 of said secondlink 736 is pivoted to the controlling arm 746 at 748. Said controllingarm 746 is pivoted at an intermediate point 760 to one end of thecontrolling bar 756, the other end of which is pivoted at 758 to theupper extension 742 of the first link 732. The lower end of saidcontrolling arm 746 is pivoted at 750 toone end of a controlling link752, the other end of which is pivoted at 754 to a leg-rest 728swingably mounted on the seat 722 at 730.

The construction shown in Fig. 3, although somewhat different in formfrom the constructions shown in Figs. 1 and 2, embodies the sameessential combination of a four-bar constrained linkage with which iscombined a quadric linkage for operating the leg rest. In this instancethe four-bar basic linkage includes the downward extension 726 whichconstitutes a link pivoted at its upper end at point 724 to thestationary support. The link 732 is the second movable link of theconstrained linkage, this being pivoted, in this instance, at its lowerend, to the stationary support. The third movable link of theconstrained linkage is the link 736. The stationary link of theconstrained linkage is that part of the stationary support between, orwhich rigidly carries the pivot points 724 and 734. The quadric linkagecomprises the link 732 (including the extension 742 thereof), this beinga link pivoted to the stationary support. The second member of thequadric linkage which is also a part of the four-bar constrained likageis the link 736. The other two members of the quadric linkage are thecontrolling arm 746 and the controlling bar 756.

The sitting and extreme reclined position are limited by stops 7 66 and768 respectively.

When the unit 718 is swung about its pivot 724, the legrest 728 ispropelled forwardly and upwardly through the linkage described above.

I have described preferred embodiments of my invention, but it isunderstood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration andthat various changes in shape and proportion, as well as thesubstitution of equivalent elements for those herein shown and describedmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionas set forth in the appended claims.

Each of the embodiments shown in the drawings may be equipped withlocking means for holding the movable members of the chair in anydesired position.

What I claim is: l

1. An article of repose for supporting the body of a person, comprisingin combination: a support, a unit including a seat and a back-rest rigidwith each other, said unit being swingably mounted on said support, adownward extension included in the structure of said 4 unit, a firstlink swingably mounted on said support at a point spaced from thepivotal connection between the support and said unit, a second linkpivoted to said downward extension and to said first link for effectingmovements of said first link about its pivot in dependence on movementsof said unit, said first link, said second link and said downwardextension forming the movable links of a constrained linkage includingthe portion of the support between the pivots of the unit and of thefirst link as a stationary link, a leg-rest swingably mounted on thefront portion of said seat, a controlling arm pivoted to the structureof said second link at one of its end portions, a controlling barpivoted at one of its end portions to one of the movable links of saidlinkage which is joined to said second link, said controlling bar beingpivoted at its other end portion to said controlling arm, and meansinterposed between said controlling arm and said leg-rest for effectingmovement of the latter in coordination with said controlling arm.

2. In an article of repose as claimed in claim 1, the structure of saidsecond link including an extension projecting beyond its pivotalconnection with said first link and said controlling arm being pivotedto said extension of the second link. a

3. In an article of repose as claimed in claim 1, said means interposedbetween said controlling arm and said leg-rest including a controllinglink pivoted at one of its end portions to said controlling arm and atits other end portion to said leg-rest.

4. In an article of repose as claimed in claim 1, said controlling barbeing pivoted to the structure of said first link.

5. In an article of repose as claimed in claim 1, the structure of saidfirst link including an extension projecting beyond its pivotalconnection with the second link, and said controlling bar being pivotedto said extension of the first link.

6. In an article of repose as claimed in claim 1, the structure of saidfirst link including an extension projecting beyond its pivotalconnection with the second link, said controlling bar being pivoted tosaid extension of the first link, and said means interposed between saidcontrolling arm and said leg rest including a controlling link pivotedat one of its end portions to said controlling arm and at its other endportion to said leg-rest.

7. In an article of repose as claimed in claim 1, said controlling barbeing pivoted to said extension of the unit.

8. In an article of repose as claimed in claim 1, said controlling barbeing pivoted to said extension of the unit, and said means interposedbetween said controlling arm and said leg-rest including a controllinglink pivoted at one of its end portions to said controlling arm and atits other end portion to said leg-rest.

9. An article of repose for supperting the body of a per son, comprisingin combination: a support, a unit including a seat and a back-rest rigidwith each other, said unit being swingably mounted on said support, adownward extension included in the structure of said unit, a first linkswingably mounted on said support at a point spaced from the pivotalconnection between the support and said unit, a second link pivoted tosaid downward extension and to said first link for effecting movementsof said first link about its pivot in dependence on movements of saidunit, said first link, said second link and said. downward extensionforming the movable links of a constrained linkage which includes theportion of the support between the pivots of the unit and the first linkas a stationary link, a leg rest swingably mounted on a movable elementof the structure, a controlling arm pivoted to the structure of thesecond link, a controlling bar pivoted at one of its end portions to oneof the links of said constrained linkage which is pivoted to thestationary support, said controlling bar being pivoted at anotherportion thereof to said controlling arm, said link of said constrainedlinkage to which the controlling bar is pivoted, said second link towhich said controlling arm is pivoted, said controlling bar, and saidcontrolling arm, constituting a quadric linkage, and means foroperatively connecting said leg rest to a portion of said quadriclinkage other than the links of said quadric linkage which are includedwithin said constrained linkage, for eflecting movements of the leg restin coordination with the movements of the seating unit.

10. An article of repose for supporting the body of a person, comprisingin combination: a support, a unit including a seat and a back-rest rigidwith each other, said unit being swingably mounted on said support, twolinks pivotally mounted at spaced points on said support, an operativeconnection from said seat and back rest unit to one of said links, aconnecting link pivoted at spaced points of its length to saidrespective links at points on said links spaced from the points at whichsaid links are pivoted to the stationary support, the portion of saidstationary support between the pivotal points of said two links, saidtwo links pivoted thereto, and said connecting link forming aconstrained linkage, the movements of which are controlled through saidoperative connection from the seat and back rest unit, a leg restswingably mounted on a movable portion of the structure of the articleof repose, a controlling arm and a controlling bar pivoted to eachother, one of said controlling members being pivoted to one of the linksof the constrained linkage pivoted to the stationary support, the otherof said controlling members being pivoted to said connecting link, andan operative connection from one of said controlling members to the legrest, said link pivoted to the stationary support, said connecting link,said controlling arm and said controlling bar constituting a quadriclinkage through which movement of the leg rest is effected when the seatand back rest unit are moved.

11. An article of repose as claimed in claim 10 in which the structureof said first link includes an extension projecting beyond its pivotalconnection with the second link, said controlling bar being pivoted tosaid extension.

12. An article of repose as claimed in claim 10 in which the leg rest ispivotally attached to the front part of the seat for movement about anaxis spaced from the point of connection at which the operativeconnection from a controlling member is made to the leg rest.

References Cited in the file of this patent or the original patentUNITED STATES PATENTS 1,688,576 Doyle Oct. 23, 1928 2,472,854 LorenzJune 14, 1949 2,579,502 Lorenz Dec. 25, 1951 2,672,919 Luckhardt Mar.23, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 17,662 Great Britain Oct. 5, 1900 136,657Austria Feb. 26, 1934 220,033 Germany Mar. 14, 1910

